An unexpected voice
by ElizabethSparrow91
Summary: Severus Snape starts hearing a voice. But not just any voice. It is a welcome escape from the loneliness that has consumed him all these years. Snape/Hermione pairing. Slow burn. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Professor Severus Snape woke with a start. He was in a cold sweat and his bedsheets were soaked. He had the dream again. Again! As much as he wanted this nightmare to disappear, it kept coming back. He could hear her screaming, even though he had not been there when she was murdered. He still heard it, as if she were right in front of him, being murdered by Lord Voldemort.

Severus shook his head and ran his fingers through his long black hair. A shower was definitely needed. He sat up and wrestled his body from the damp mangle of sheets. He cast _scourgify _on the bed and the sheets were freshly laundered. Severus made his way to his bathroom and walked right past the full length mirror and straight into the shower. Severus allowed his mind to wander on thoughts of her. His one chance at happiness had been snatched away from him. The hot water consumed him, and he let the thought of her drift away.

Once dressed, Severus made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast. Students milled about and whispered behind his back as he passed. "_Insolent little pests." _Severus thought as he passed some giggling 5th year girls.

"Good morning Severus!" Cried Dumbledore as he sat down at the staff table.

"Good morning headmaster." he replied curtly.

Dumbledore looked at him with a twinkle in his eye. "Having nightmares again, are we Severus?"

Severus snapped his head towards Dumbledore. He knew that no one had heard him. The Great Hall was not full of students, and the ones that were there wouldn't be able to hear over the buzz of conversation. They were the only teachers at the staff table. "It is considerably annoying how you seem to know everything."

Dumbledore chuckled. "I know YOU Severus."

"You seem to be the only one who does." Severus picked up his fork and prodded his eggs.

"Possibly a blessing in disguise." Dumbledore began eating his bacon.

"_Some blessing."_ Severus continued eating his breakfast in silence. It was going to be a long day.

**6 years later**

Severus woke from his dreamless sleep. Today was the start of term. Another year to look forward to. He sniggered to himself. "_What is there to look forward to?"_ He got up and made his way to the shower. His thoughts wandered different places these days. Especially with the dark lord on the rise once more. Hence his dreamless sleep draughts. When Lord Voldemort returned, his nightmares were unbearable. He could not afford to not be at his best at any moment. He had just been existing for years, and now he had a purpose again. Not one he particularly cared for, but it was still a purpose.

He buttoned his frock coat and made his way to the Great Hall. He passed the House tables and saw a 5th year girl with her nose in a book. "_Ah, the insufferable little know it all is already at it."_ It was only the 2nd day back from summer break and Hermione Granger was studying. As Severus passed, he saw that the book she was reading was _Advanced Potion-making_ by Libatius Borage. Severus cocked his head slightly. "_Why on earth is she reading a book that is meant for 6th year students?"_ But he knew the answer to that. As much as he hated to admit it, it was something he himself did when he was in school. He would study day and night, reading ahead so he could get good marks. He truly was brilliant.

Severus sat down at the staff table and began prodding his scrambled eggs. Students started milling in, chatter began filling the air. Severus could hear bits and pieces of conversations all over the great hall. Nothing interesting of course. Mostly who was dating who, where they had spent their summer, who would be on the house Quidditch team. Severus did not care about any of this, and began eating his breakfast.

"How are you this morning, Severus?" Dumbledore sat down on his right, grabbing a goblet of pumpkin juice.

"As good as always, Headmaster." Severus inclined his head towards Dumbledore.

"Looking forward to today's lessons?" Dumbledore began eating his sausage.

"Not particularly." Severus washed down his eggs with some water, and began eating his bacon.

"Oh Severus, there is always something to look forward to. In time, you will find it."

At this, Minerva Mcgonagall sat down to the right of Dumbledore. "Good morning Albus."

"Good morning Minerva. Slept well I trust?"

Minerva took a sip of pumpkin juice. "Oh yes Albus, quite well. I am looking forward to seeing who will be on the Gryffindor Quidditch team this year."

Severus stopped listening and excused himself from the table. the He made his way along the house tables toward the dungeons. He was mentally drowning out the chatter, when he heard a voice. Now, this wasn't uncommon for Severus. Being an occlumens meant he sometimes heard other people's thoughts without actually trying. It didn't happen often, only when someone had a strong mind with intense thoughts. He frequently had to drown out Dumbledore's thoughts of fizzing whizbees or cockroach clusters. But today, he heard the thoughts of a 5th year Gryffindor. He glanced over at the Gryffindor table, and saw miss Granger with her nose in her book. Potter and Weasley were chatting away with the Weasley twins about some nonsense, but not her. She was thinking of the different methods of potion making.

"_Ingredient, potion, antidote. Medieval method."_ He heard her thoughts as if she were speaking directly to him. He kept walking, down the staircase to the dungeons. "_I've never heard her thoughts before… let alone any student"_ It was intriguing to Severus that he could hear her thoughts, having never heard a student's thoughts that he wasn't actually trying to hear. He entered his classroom and flicked his wand. Cauldrons flew from the shelves onto the tabletops, along with potion vials, mortar and pestles and measuring spoons.

Gryffindors and Slytherins began filing into the room. Draco Malfoy, followed by his two cronies, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, sat at a workstation closest to Severus' desk. Potter, Weasley and Granger chose a workstation farthest away from his desk. Severus noticed Potter and Weasley were still in conversation about Quidditch, while miss Granger was deep in thought. "_If what I read is correct, we should be learning how to brew the Draught of Peace. It is the first potion listed in the 5th year potions book."_ Severus quirked his head in her direction and sneered. Nobody took notice. "_Little know-it all."_

Severus stood at the front of the class, waiting for silence. All eyes focused on him, and he began to speak.

"Well, I see that you all have decided to carry on with your mediocre attempts at potions. A very select few will make it through the O.W.L.s." He glanced at Malfoy, who smirked back at him. "_Insolent little brat."_ Truth be told, Severus couldn't stand Draco, nor his father Lucius. But, he had to play the game. And he played so very well.

"Today, we will be doing a review of a potion you learned in 4th year. If you cannot remember how to brew this potion, there will be no hope for you." He glanced around at the anxious faces and focused for a split second on hers. She was nonplussed by his statement. "How many of you remember the Wit-Sharpening potion?" A few hands raised into the air. "For those who did not raise their hands, you will certainly need this potion to pass my class this year." He snarled at them. "You have 1 hour!"

Students began pulling out their potions books, looking for references to potions they learned in 4th year. Potter and Weasley looked slightly dumbfounded, while Granger walked over to the supply shelf and started grabbing ingredients. She walked back over to the others, and started setting out her ingredients.

"Hermione, could you help us with this one? We forgot how to make it." Weasley was trying to put on the charm. Severus sniggered.

"Ron, this is one of the easiest potions to make, surely you remember?"

Ron shook his head.

"Harry?" She looked at him pleadingly.

Harry thought for a moment. "I remember armadillo bile and scarab beetles."

Hermione smiled at him. "Yes, and ginger root. Here, I have notes on this potion right here, along with brewing instructions."

Severus glowered at the three of them as he made his way around the room. "Remember that you will not have partners during your O.W.L.s. You will have to rely on your own intelligence." He saw some grimaces and sneers from the students. He finally arrived at the table where Potter, Weasley and Granger were working. Granger had already ground her beetles and cut her ginger roots, and was mixing in her armadillo bile.

Potter and Weasley were still grinding their beetles, glancing every so often at the notes in Granger's book. Her handwriting was elegant and easy to read. "_Mix ground scarab beetles until potion turns red, then remix armadillo bile until yellow."_ He heard her thoughts as if she were speaking, so loud and clear. But, she wasn't reading her notes from the book, she was reciting them from memory. Severus glanced at her potion, and it was indeed turning a bright yellow. Some students made the mistake of letting it turn green.

At that moment, Granger grabbed Ron's hand to stop him from stirring. "Ron, your potion is supposed to be a brighter red, not a dark red. Look at Harry's."

Ron glanced over and saw that Harry's potion was indeed brighter than his. "Oh right, thanks Hermione."

As Severus started thinking of a nasty comment to make about Weasley's potion, Granger piped up. "And make sure when you add the armadillo bile, you don't let it turn green." Severus was taken aback. He had just been thinking this exact thing to say.

He continued on in silence, thinking it would be a good idea to check on Malfoy. As usual, Malfoy was making a spectacle of himself in front of Pansy Parkinson. She was fawning all over him, it was sickening. Malfoy's potion was going from a dirt yellow to an olive green. Severus bent down on the pretense of checking the potion and whispered so that only Malfoy could hear, "Stop stirring Draco. The potion is supposed to be yellow." Malfoy stopped stirring and added in his ginger roots. "Well done Mr. Malfoy."

Malfoy smirked and Pansy Parkinson gushed. "Oh Draco, you are so good at potions."

Malfoy looked over at Potter, Weasley and Granger. "It is my BEST subject." he said loud enough for the whole class to hear.

Granger finished with her potion and sat, reading her notes. Potter and Weasley were still mixing the armadillo bile. Potter's potion was turning a light purple.

"Remember Harry, the potion needs to be a deep purple."

"Oh yeah, thanks Hermione."

Severus sat down at his desk and waited for the other students to finish with their potions. "You have 20 minutes until the end of class." He stated to the room. Malfoy was just now extinguishing his flame, a smirk clear on his face. Granger had been done for the past 20 minutes, while the rest of the class struggled to remember how to finish the potion.

Weasley had just extinguished his flame, when Granger hopped off her stool and re-lit it. "Ron, the potion needs to be purple, not lavender. Here." She showed him her notes.

"Oh, right. You know how much I hate potions Hermione." Granger rolled her eyes at him.

"Bring up a vial of your potion for testing. You will receive the results next lesson." Severus knew that a majority of the class would not do well, but he also had not planned on having them brew a wit-sharpening potion. All because of Granger's thoughts. She brought up her test tube, and placed it on his desk. She glanced up at him, then quickly turned and walked away. He glanced at her potion vial. The color was perfect, and he knew she would pass. Malfoy brought up his, along with Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson. He knew these four would not get top marks, but he would have to give Malfoy almost full credit, due to the ruse he continued to play. He hated giving students preferential treatment, but it was all part of the facade. Potter and Weasley brought their vials up next. Weasley set down a vial that was still a light shade of purple, while Potter presented one that was just a few shades lighter than Granger's. Severus hated to admit it, but Potter was not that bad at potions. He always gave him lower marks on purpose, or sabotaged his potions in some way to make his abilities seem worse.

He waited for the other students to bring up their vials, then he dismissed the class. Potter and Weasley were packing up their bags, while the other students filed out of the room.

"Ron, will you help me put these ingredients away?"

"Naw, Snape can do that." Ron sneered at the ingredients lying on the table.

"Professor Snape Ron." She began putting her things into her bag.

"We will see you in Transfiguration Hermione." Ron started for the door.

"We should help Hermione." Potter protested.

"She's fine, besides, I want to get out of here."

"Go on Harry, I'll catch you up." She began gathering the ingredients into her arms. Potter followed Weasley out of the door. Severus watched as Granger made her way to the shelf and began putting the ingredients in their respective places. He flicked his wand and cauldrons, vials, ingredients and all other supplies zoomed onto the shelves. One of the jars of armadillo bile knocked into Granger's hand, causing her to drop the jar of scarab beetles. It crashed on the floor.

"Oh no." She put the remaining jars away and pulled out her wand. "Reparo." The jar became whole once more, sitting on the floor. She bent down, and began picking scarab beetles off of the floor. Severus got out of his chair and made his way over to her. He was going to make a snide comment when she raised her head to look at him. She looked embarrassed and was biting her lip. He heard her thoughts once more; "_Oh no, I hope he isn't upset with me."_ He merely stared at her, as if noticing her for the first time.

"I am sorry Professor, I should have been more careful." She got to her feet and put the jar of scarab beetles on the shelf.

Severus was not sure what to say. "I would advise more caution in the future, Miss Granger." She looked slightly shocked. "_Did he just call me miss Granger?"_ Severus could have kicked himself. There was a slight kindness to the way he had addressed her.

"You are dismissed." He turned from her, and began making his way to his desk to collect the vials for testing. He heard her gather her bag, and make her way out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

A few weeks had passed since the start of term, and students began falling into the routine of their class schedules. Fewer and fewer students were late to classes, which meant he was giving out fewer detentions. Contrary to popular belief, Severus hated giving students detention. It was a waste of his time to sit in his classroom for hours while students studied, wrote lines or worked on homework. He wasn't a babysitter. They were still going over the wit-sharpening potion in class, as over half did very poorly. Draco being one of them. He had given the boy near top marks for his shoddy potion, knowing full well that if he were to administer it, it would not sharpen the dullest wit. Potter however had done well, considering he hadn't brewed the potion for months. Weasley's was by far the worst, and Severus had turned his nose up at it in disgust. "_How can anyone be so thick that they can't follow instructions?"_

Severus walked into the great hall for breakfast when he heard it.

"Ron, you can't be serious?" Miss Granger was chastising the Weasley boy.

"What?!" Weasley choked out with a mouthful of food.

"Ron, Professor Snape gave you a fair grade. You didn't follow the instructions properly."

Weasley swallowed his food in disgust. "You've got to be joking! Mine wasn't the worst in class! Look at Malfoy's potion! It clearly wasn't as good as Snape graded him for. And Harry's potion was better than what he got marked for. You were the only one out of us who got graded fairly!"

Miss Granger scoffed. "Ron, I was graded based upon my potion. We all were. Although, I will admit you are right about Malfoy. His potion was not as good as the grade he got. Harry's potion was better."

Harry took a swig of pumpkin juice. "It doesn't matter. Snape has always had a bias when it comes to certain students. I don't ever plan on being graded fairly in his class. Even if Hermione made my potion without him knowing, I would still receive low marks."

Severus made his way to the staff table and sat down next to Dumbledore. His breakfast appeared, and he began to prod his eggs.

"Something on your mind, Severus?"

Severus looked over at Dumbledore. "You know I hate when you do that."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Severus, I am merely making an inquiry based upon your facial expression."

Severus frowned. "My facial expressions are none of your concern." He took a bite of his eggs.

Dumbledore studied him for a moment. "On the contrary Severus. People typically take an interest in the well being of their friends."

Severus looked at Dumbledore who was beaming at him. "Friends. You think we are friends?" Severus took a sip of his water while he waited for Dumbledore to answer. Dumbledore contemplated the ceiling of the great hall, which matched the weather outside.

"I _know_ we are friends, Severus." And with that, Dumbledor got to his feet, and left the great hall, leaving Severus to his thoughts.

Severus got up from the staff table. He started making his way out of the great hall when he noticed Miss Granger was sitting alone, nose in a book. He smiled to himself. He used to always have his nose in a book. He admired her tenacity. She was still reading _Advanced Potion Making_. He smirked. Maybe today he would test her. As he made his way to the dungeon, he wondered what type of potion he could introduce. He was considering the _Dreamless sleep_ potion. His stock was running low, and if Miss Granger brewed it perfectly, that would add another month to his supply. Madam Pomfrey had also requested more _Wound cleaning_ potion. He could have her supply restocked for a few months between Miss Granger and a few choice students brewing a decent potion. He hated to admit it, but he was pretty sure Potter would do well, no matter what potion he assigned. Severus made his way into the classroom, shutting the door behind him.

Severus could hear students coming down the hall to the classroom. Weasley's voice resonated off the stone walls.

"I am just saying Harry, you should consider it. You could play for the Chudley Cannons or Puddlemere United! With your abilities as a seeker mate, they would be barmy to turn you down."

Severus tuned out the noise and began getting the class ready.

"Hey, where's Hermione?" Severus turned his attention to Potter's voice.

"Dunno. Maybe she forgot one of her books and ran back to the dormitory to get it?" Weasley sounded puzzled. This gave Severus an idea. He flicked his wand and ingredients started flying from the shelves along with scales, mortar and pestles, phials and measuring devices. He smirked to himself. "_If Miss Granger doesn't show up to class, those two won't have a clue what potion these ingredients are for."_ Severus went and sat at his desk at the front of the class as students started filing in.

"Did you hear Weasley in the hall just now? Giving Potter that ridiculous idea that he could play for Puddlemere United?!" Malfoy made his way to one of the front workstations in the room. He gave Severus a smug look, then sat down. Finally, all the students had arrived and seated themselves. "_Except her."_ Severus stood and moved to one side of his desk and gestured to the potion ingredients and equipment on his desk.

"Today, you will be making a potion using these ingredients. Half the grade is figuring out which potion you need to brew. I know you have made it before because I taught it to you. No one is allowed to consult their potions book or any notes you have taken in my class. You have an hour and a half. Begin."

The class looked petrified. Weasley's jaw had dropped open the moment he realized that they weren't going to be given any instruction. Potter made his way with the others to grab ingredients. Severus watched as the students clambered around his desk, some grabbing ingredients before even studying them. Potter however, stood there and examined each one.

"Aren't you gonna grab some?" Weasley was grabbing scales and a mortar and pestle.

"I remember these ingredients." Potter stood there for a moment and then grabbed his ingredients and put them in his cauldron along with a mortar and pestle, scales, phials and measuring devices. He headed back to his workstation and began setting out his ingredients.

"Right." Weasley looked dumbstruck. "Any idea what it is?" Severus was making his way around the class and almost snorted. This was a first year potion and Weasley had no idea what it was? Surely Longbottom remembered. After all, he did melt his cauldron in first year brewing this potion. Potter handed Weasley some snake fangs.

"It's the cure for boils. Remember in first year when Neville melted his cauldron because he added the porcupine quills before extinguishing the flame?"

"_Impressive Potter… let's see how well you can do without Miss Granger her to assist you."_ Snape was eager to see how well Potter did. After all, his mother was brilliant at potions.

At that moment, Miss Granger came running into the classroom, clutching a stitch in her side.

"I am. So Sorry. Professor Snape." She could barely breathe . "I was. With. Professor McGonagall."

Severus looked at her, giving her an icy glare. "Be that as it may, you are still 30 minutes late for class. You will see me after to discuss your detention." Miss Granger's mouth dropped.

"Oi! She just told you that she was with Professor McGonagall. Didn't you hear?" Weasley was puffing out his chest as he yelled across the room. By now, all the students were staring between Severus, Weasley and Granger.

"I did hear her just fine, Weasley. Perhaps you would like to join her if you continue to question my authority as Professor of this class?"

Weasley's ears were turning pink. Miss Granger made her way over to Potter and Weasley's table. "Just leave it, Ron." She huffed and sat her bag down.

"I advise everyone to get back to their potions." Severus began gliding around the tables again, checking everyone's progress.

"He was bang out of line for that Hermione." Weasley had already sidled up Miss Granger as she was unpacking her bag.

"It's fine Ron. I will just explain what happened after class. Why are we brewing a cure for boils? That's a first year potion."

Potter glanced over at her while he stirred his potion. "At the start of class Snape just said we were to guess and make a potion with these ingredients. No instruction, no notes and no books."

"Ah!" Miss Granger squeaked and threw her books and notes back into her bag.

"Hermione, can you help me out with this one?" Weasley gestured to his cauldron.

Miss Granger looked at his potion. "Which step are you on?"

"Hell if I know." Weasley shrugged. "I've been copying Harry."

Miss Granger looked at Potter's potion. "Right, so Harry, you added the powdered snake fangs to the brew and you heated it to 250 for 10 seconds right?"

Potter nodded. "Yeah."

Miss Granger smiled. "Alright, and how long have you had it brew since then?"

Potter glanced at his watch. "About 20 minutes."

Miss Granger glanced at the clock. "Ok, so the potion brews between 33 and 45 minutes. According to _Magical Drafts and Potions_ letting the potion brew for the full 45 minutes gives it maximum potency."

Severus glanced in her direction. There was no copy of _Magical Drafts and Potions_ in sight. She was reciting from memory.

"How on earth do you manage to remember all that Hermione?" Weasley looked dumbfounded as Miss Granger smiled and began preparing the horned slugs for Weasley and Potter.

"It interests me Ron. I find it fascinating."

Weasley scoffed. "Not me. I can't wait to be done with all this. No potions for me next year."

"Oh but Ron it will be so useful in the wizarding world. Most positions require at least 6 years of potions lessons."

Weasley leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. "Well, I'll find a job that doesn't require 6 years of potions. I'll work for the department of Magical Games and Sports."

"Ron, you still need at least 6 years of potions lessons. Any Ministry of Magic job has minimum requirements and that is one of them."

Ron sighed. "How do you know?"

Miss Granger gave him a matter of fact look. "Because we will be discussing careers this year. I wanted to get a head start so I started researching them two years ago."

By this time Severus had made his way around the room a few times. It was astonishing how many students hadn't even gleaned the identity of the potion. Malfoy was showing off as per usual. He had no idea what potion he was making, and had just decided to make a spectacle of himself by adding random amounts of the ingredients and stirring vigorously. His potion was starting to have an odd smell. Potter added the 4 horned slugs to his potion, and Weasley followed suit. Potter's potion looked good, especially in comparison to Weasley's and Malfoy's. Potter extinguished his flame and added two porcupine quills. He began to stir: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 times clockwise. He was done. His potion was blue and emitting pink smoke as it should. Weasley on the other hand, hadn't paid attention to the porcupine quills Miss Granger had laid out for him, and instead grabbed a small handful and threw them into the cauldron.

"Ron!" Miss Granger, noticing what he had done, extinguished his flame before the cauldron started to melt. "Why didn't you extinguish your flame? And why did you add so many porcupine quills? This potion only needs two."

Weasley looked sullen. "Well, I wouldn't know that would I Hermione? We weren't allowed to use a book or notes so I didn't have a clue what I was doing." His potion was a blueish gray color, and emitted gray smoke.

Severus watched as Miss Granger surveyed the damage. "I bet I could fix it. I would just need more time." Potter was filling up his phials with potion before clearing out his cauldron.

"Oh don't bother Hermione." Ron began scooping out his potion into phials and cleared out his cauldron. Malfoy had a green concoction that was emitting orange/yellow smoke. He was stoppering his last phial before he too cleared out his cauldron. "You know, I bet my potion is the best in the class." He spoke loud enough for the whole class to hear. "It is definitely better than your, Potter." He smirked as Potter made his way to Severus' desk to turn in his potion phials. Potter ignored him and made his way back to collect his things. "Weasley, that looks like something a cat threw up. Did Mrs. Norris help you with that?" Parkinson laughed and draped herself on Malfoy's arm.

"Get stuffed Malfoy." Ron tossed his phials on the desk, and traipsed away.

"And what about you, Granger? Got anything to turn in?"

Miss Granger looked at Malfoy with disgust. "No. I knew I couldn't brew the cure for boils with less than an hour left in class." Malfoy went white. He turned on his heel and dropped his phials onto Severus' desk and stormed out of the classroom.

"What's eating him?" Asked Weasley laughing.

"He obviously had no idea what potion we were supposed to brew. Didn't you see him? His potion was green and had orange smoke. There is no way he brewed it properly. Harry's potion was by far the best in the class." Weasley looked sullen.

"How'd you remember that potion so well Harry?" Potter laughed.

"How could I forget? Neville melted his cauldron in first year. Don't you remember the smell?" Weasley and Potter started collecting their things.

"See in the next class Hermione." Weasley headed out the door. Potter stayed behind.

"Go on Harry. I'll see you in the next class. Let McGonagall know I may be late?" Miss Granger collected her things and put them in her bag. Potter made his way out the door, closing it behind him.

Severus had sat down at his desk and was grading the potion phials. They weren't all terrible. Some students had actually figured out what the potion was, but may have forgotten brew time or the number of each ingredient. Potters was by far the best in the class. If Miss Granger had been present at the start of class, her potion would have been perfect. Miss Granger made her way up to Severus' desk. "Professor." He looked up at her. She didn't look sheepish or timid.

"Why precisely were you late to my class?" He didn't glare, and his voice was softer than normal. Miss Granger shifted.

"Professor, I was on my way to class when I saw a group of sixth years bullying a first year. I went and told them off, but the first year had already had _Anteoculatia_ cast on her by one of the sixth years and she was in tears. I was taking her up to the hospital wing when we were stopped by Professor McGonagall. She escorted us to the hospital wing, and the first year and I explained to her and Madam Pomfrey what had happened. It took awhile because the first year girl was hysterical until Madam Pomfrey removed the antlers." Severus studied her for a moment.

"Well, I will be confirming your story with Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey. In the meantime, you are to come to my office every evening and assist me in cleaning and restocking, starting with this evening."

Miss Granger's eyes fell. "Yes Professor."

"You may go." Severus waved his wand and the classroom door opened. Miss Granger practically ran out and down the hall.

Severus finished grading the potions, and organized them on a shelf. He continued on with the rest of his day. His afternoon classes dragged on. He was teaching second years how to brew a _Sleeping Draught_. This was a fairly simple potion and Madam Pomfrey had made a request for it. Her stocks were always low after the first few months of term. Students would typically end up in the hospital wing during the start of term, end of term and around the holidays before going home. Severus gathered the phials that were of sufficient quality and made his way out of the classroom. He made his way out of the dungeons and up towards the hospital wing.

"Ah Severus! I have been expecting you." Madam Pomfrey smiled as Severus walked into her office.

"Hello Poppy. I have some phials of _Sleeping Draught_ for you. Freshly brewed by second year students."

Madam Pomfrey got up from her chair and went over to a cabinet on the wall. She waved her wand and the cabinet doors flew open. "Oh Severus, you know I could never get all of this brewed without you. You'd be surprised how many students come into the hospital wing all hours of the day and night."

Severus arranged the phials in the cabinet and smirked. "With how many students I have caught jinxing one another it truly doesn't surprise me. Speaking of jinxes, had any interesting ones recently?" Severus placed the last phial in the cabinet and stepped away. Madam Pomfrey waved her wand and the cabinet shut and locked itself.

"Yes. This first year girl came in with antlers! Poor thing was beside herself. She was lucky Miss Granger happened by her on the way to class. Sounds like she gave those sixth years a good talking too."

Severus smirked. "Yes. Very lucky. I will be by later next week with more potions for you."

"At least you help keep me stocked up. Thank you for your assistance, Severus." Severus bowed.

"My pleasure Poppy." And with that, he strode from her office down to the great hall for dinner.


End file.
